1
as in sad
causing unhappiness
a teary ending to what had been up to that point a lighthearted movie
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in tearful
given to expressing strong emotion (as sorrow) by readily shedding tears
he's one of those teary drunks who sees fit to bore the other bar patrons with his sad stories
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of teary
And then probably a Sunday that ends among familiar shadows splayed across fairways, a long walk up Augusta’s 18th, a hat brim pushed up off his forehead, a final putt, a final roar, a teary embrace with his family, and then a 44 Long in green.
—
Brendan Quinn, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025
Admittedly, that moment when a teary Dana comforts Jake over the loss of his girlfriend absolutely did me in.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 4 Apr. 2025
At a panel following a finale watch party here, Wood was teary, taking sips of water.
—Charles Trepany, USA Today, 7 Apr. 2025
Jamie’s phone-call confession sends Eddie into a teary existential crisis, one that ends with Eddie in Jamie’s bedroom, where his teen son tumbled down the social-media rabbit hole and peed his pants when cops came to arrest him.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 22 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for teary
Brendan Quinn, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025
Admittedly, that moment when a teary Dana comforts Jake over the loss of his girlfriend absolutely did me in.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 4 Apr. 2025
At a panel following a finale watch party here, Wood was teary, taking sips of water.
—Charles Trepany, USA Today, 7 Apr. 2025
Jamie’s phone-call confession sends Eddie into a teary existential crisis, one that ends with Eddie in Jamie’s bedroom, where his teen son tumbled down the social-media rabbit hole and peed his pants when cops came to arrest him.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 22 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for teary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for teary
Adjective
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For someone who prizes roadside Americana, this is the visual version of the sad trombone sound.—
Christopher Reynolds,
Los Angeles Times,
15 May 2025
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After the show, there's booze, girls, and hotel suites, but Abel's locked in the bathroom, being sad.—
Jordan Hoffman,
EW.com,
15 May 2025
Adjective
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This year, Frémaux scored big as Leonardo DiCaprio showed up to present a tearful Robert De Niro with his honorary Palme d’Or.—
Anne Thompson,
IndieWire,
14 May 2025
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Pop singer Cassie gave a tearful testimony during the Diddy trial.—
Rebecca Morin,
USA Today,
14 May 2025
Adjective
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Instead, Chernow devotes a hefty portion of his 1,039 pages (excluding notes) to Twain’s personal tribulations, a depressing series of bungles and calamities starting in the author’s middle age.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
9 May 2025
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The lack of business on Sunday and Monday nights could be especially depressing.—
Stephanie Breijo,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2025
Adjective
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In a speech that lasted nearly five minutes, an emotional Gaga moved the crowd.—
Billboard Brasil,
Billboard,
5 May 2025
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There was a quality about Ruth of emotional homelessness.—
Lillian Fishman,
New Yorker,
4 May 2025
Adjective
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No other governor, remember, has tried to pull off this pathetic budget stunt.—
Joe Soucheray,
Twin Cities,
10 May 2025
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In his last, most pathetic years, Mark Twain threw himself behind the crackpot theory that the true author of Shakespeare’s plays may have been Francis Bacon.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
9 May 2025
Adjective
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Comment At the end of the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Richard Strauss’s Salome, the soprano Elza van den Heever stayed onstage to accept the uproarious ovations with a weepy smile and a grateful tap on her heart.—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
30 Apr. 2025
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Novelist Kazuo Ishiguro’s weepy cloning love-triangle story turned out to be apt source material for his friend Garland to adapt.—
Eric Vilas-Boas,
Vulture,
11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.—
David Mamet,
National Review,
11 Aug. 2022
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The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.—
Helen Shaw,
Vulture,
8 Dec. 2021
Adjective
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Several days after this lachrymose dinner, a carnival-level event delighted Angelenos of either political persuasion.—
Patt Morrison,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Apr. 2024
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Puccini later inserted a different, more lachrymose text, one that forecasts her suicide.—
Alex Ross,
The New Yorker,
23 Oct. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Teary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/teary. Accessed 18 May. 2025.
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